


Just Friends

by mikeyclifford



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 09:24:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1505261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikeyclifford/pseuds/mikeyclifford
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calum might be a bit in love with Ashton, and Ashton doesn't even know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Friends

**Author's Note:**

> yoo this is my first fanfiction, it's horribly cliche and not very good (sorry!!)  
> repost from tumblr (http://radloheads.tumblr.com/post/83400503218)

Calum slowly blinked his eyes open, wincing slightly at the harsh light filtering through his curtains. Rolling over, he was met with another body. He took in the sight of the still-sleeping boy – his naturally wavy dirty blonde hair, his tanned skin, his perfect, slightly pouted pink lips. Calum stifled a sigh. Oh, the things he’d do to be able to kiss those lips. He wondered if it would be weird to take a photo of him like this, blissfully peaceful, spread out on the white sheets. Breaking out of his slight trance, he clicked his phone open to read the time. It was 7:48am, and not unsurprisingly, he didn’t have any missed calls or texts. “Ash?” he murmured, shaking the older boys shoulder. Ashton wriggled a bit, groaning in annoyance. “Ash,” Calum repeated, louder this time, nudging him again.

“What?” Ashton moaned, rubbing his eyes before opening them. Calum’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of his gorgeous hazel eyes. Ashton thought that his eyes were boring – unlike Calum’s, he would say – but Calum disagreed. When you looked close enough, they were a mixture of chocolate and honey and emerald. They were framed by long, dusty eyelashes that looked like they belonged on a girl.

Calum shook his head slightly, willing himself to stop staring into Ashton’s eyes and answer his question. “Do you want to grab a coffee with me? I’ve got a lecture in an hour,” he explained, running a hand through his own black hair. It was a Wednesday, meaning that Ashton didn’t have any lectures until 11 (Calum had memorised his timetable during their first week, of course). Ashton closed his eyes, his eyebrows knotted together in thought.

“Okay. But only if you let me cuddle you first,” he decided with a grin, opening his arms for Calum, who gladly accepted. He snuggled in to Ashton’s warm chest, only the thin fabric of their shirts separating their skin and Ashton’s heartbeat drumming a steady rhythm. Moments like these were to be cherished, Calum had decided. Most people thought their relationship was quite weird – both boys were very handsy, especially when it came to each other. However, they weren’t dating, much to Calum’s dismay. The younger boy was completely and utterly head-over-heals in love with his best friend, and Calum was positive he didn’t return those feelings. Ashton was bubbly and outgoing, drawing the attention of people everywhere he went, while Calum was reserved and shy, and tried his hardest to blend in. It’s not as if Calum hid his feelings; more that Ashton would never notice the younger boys’ deep infatuation when he received the same attention from almost everyone he met.

He wasn’t exactly sure of  _when_  he had fallen in love, but he knew that by this stage, it would be hard to ever escape it. The pair had met at the age of seven, when Ashton’s family had moved into the house next to Calum’s. They attended the same school, they went to the same concerts, they got into trouble together. They were inseparable.

When the time had come for them to graduate high school and choose a university, there was no doubt that they would do that together, as well. Luckily for them, there was a university in Sydney close to home that offered a large range of courses, including Music, for Ashton, and Film and Media, for Calum. Now, they lived together, and Calum couldn’t be happier.

Most nights, Ashton would come into Calum’s bed in the early hours of the morning. He often found it hard to sleep in his own room, and would seek refuge in Calum’s instead, claiming that his own room was too drafty and cold (really, he just liked cuddles, and it got lonely in his own room). Not that Calum was complaining, of course, even if it was sometimes hard to keep himself from kissing Ashton’s pretty face as he slept.

They stayed tangled together under the sheets for another ten minutes, until Calum decided that they really had to get up. He reluctantly dragged himself from Ashton’s warm embrace and into the cool May air. His room was decorated with various movie posters, the works of his favourite directors. Ashton often teased him fondly about his obsession with film, and the fact that he could tell you who directed almost any movie. In turn, Calum would tease Ashton about his knowledge of classical music – it always seemed out of place on the boy who swore he was  _really_  punk-rock (in reality, Ashton was as soft and cuddly as a puppy, Calum thought).

When they were finally dressed and out the door, Ashton reached out for Calums hand, entangling their fingers. Calum blushed slightly, relishing the feeling of Ashtons thumb softly brushing against his hand. It had become normal for them to walk like this, always feeling the need for at least one body part to be touching the others, and it was its own kind of torture for Calum. Ashton took these touches as friendly gestures, while Calum wished they meant more.

“You look nice today, Calum,” Ashton complimented him casually, grinning as he swung their hands between them. Calum couldn’t help the blush that coloured his cheeks.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” he said, turning it into a joke, even though if he was being honest he thought that Ashton  _always_  looked nice.

They walked in a comfortable silence to their favourite café. It was small yet characteristic, and was perfectly situated between their flat and campus. Their shared apartment was only a ten-minute walk from the university campus, meaning that they could wake up fifteen minutes before a lecture and still make it there on time, which came in handy with their odd sleeping patterns. Calum followed Ashton inside, their hands still tucked in each other. It was quiet at this time of the morning, with only the occasional student rushing in to grab a coffee before their next lecture.

Behind the counter stood a tall boy, with blonde hair neatly styled into a quiff, big blue eyes and a lip ring. He was definitely a new employee, because there was no way Calum could have missed him. He had to admit that he was stunning – although, he had nothing on Ashton.

“What can I get the lovely couple?” the man – Luke, according to his name tag – asked us, glancing down at our intertwined hands, a slight smirk on his face. Calum snuck a glance over at Ashton, who was blushing furiously. Ashton wriggled his hand out of Calums, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Oh, um, we aren’t dating. We’re just friends.” Ashton explained, offering the stranger one of his stunning smiles, showing off his dimples. Calum could almost feel his heart splitting in two. We’re just friends. The words echoed around his mind, making him feel somewhat sick. Of course they were ‘just friends’. Ashton would never like someone like Calum, he thought, letting out a small sigh.

Calum snapped back to reality when Luke chuckled slightly, a light blush decorating his cheeks. “My mistake. But, if you aren’t dating, would it be okay for me to give you my number?” Luke asked flirtatiously, biting his lip as he stared at Ashton. This was not good. No. You can’t give Ashton your number. No no  _no._ He was  _Calums_. He couldn’t stand this.

“Um, I’ll go get us a table…” Calum muttered, backing away before he screamed out something ridiculous about how Ashton was  _his_  and no, Luke could  _not_  give Ashton his number. He should have just let Ashton stay in bed this morning. He slumped down in a chair, resting his face in his hands. He knew he shouldn’t be jealous – Ashton was right, they were  _just friends._  He let out an exasperated sigh. When Ashton approached the table with a huge grin and flushed cheeks, there was no way that Calum could stay annoyed at him. He pushed Calum’s coffee across the table. Calum was quite surprised that he had actually remembered the reason they’d come here, with gorgeous, flirty baristas and all. He murmured a thanks, sipping the warm liquid.

“Luke – that was the guy’s name – said his shift ends in ten minutes, so I’m going to wait for him to finish. He seems really nice.” Ashton said, excitement creeping into his tone. Calum just nodded in agreement. If Ashton was happy, he should be happy, too, right? Was that how it worked? Because at the moment, Calum wasn’t happy at all. That should be  _him_  Ashton is excited to see. He pushed his selfish thoughts aside, glancing at his phone.

“I’ve got to go, I’ll see you later, yeah?” Calum asked, picking his coffee and bag up. He really didn’t need to leave for another fifteen minutes, but there was no way he was hanging around to see Luke steal Ashton from him.

Ashton nodded, grinning widely. “See you later, Calum,” he said happily.

—-

Calum opened the door to their apartment. It was just past three, meaning that Ashton would be home from his lectures already. He dumped his stuff into his room, heading towards the small living room where he could hear Green Day playing at top volume. Sure enough, Ashton was sitting on the couch, the harsh light from his laptop reflecting on to his face.  

“Calum! How was your day?” he asked cheerfully, patting the space on the couch beside him. Calum sat down, letting out an absent sigh as he leant into Ashton’s chest, close enough that he could hear his steady heartbeat.

“It was fine. How about you? How was Luke?” he asked with a slightly bitter tone, secretly hoping that Luke had said something to make Ashton dislike him. Maybe he was secretly a mass murderer, or hated FIFA.

“Great! He’s so interesting. He’s studying Law at our uni. You’d love him, Calum,” Ashton enthused, forcing Calum to hold back an eye roll. He loved  _Ashton_ , not some stupid barista.

 “That’s great,” he mumbled, closing his eyes in bliss as Ashton ran his long fingers through his thick, black hair.

“Luke plays guitar, he said I could go over to his house tomorrow to hear him play. I bet he’s good. Maybe he’d like to hear me playing drums. Don’t you think that’s cool?” Ashton gushed, still running his fingers through Calum’s hair. Calum grunted, shrugging his shoulders.

“ _I_  play guitar. And bass.” He pointed out, pretending to be interested in whatever show was playing on TV. Ashton giggled slightly, one of his infamous school girl-esque laughs.

“Yeah, but you’re  _different_ , Calum. It’s not every day a guy as hot as Luke is interested in me,” he continued.

Calum couldn’t stop the scowl that spread across his face, praying that Ashton couldn’t see his face. He didn’t see how Luke was so special. Ashton had known him for a few hours and had already decided that Luke was better than Calum. That was just his luck.

“Cal?” Ash said softly after a few minutes of silence. “Are you okay? You’re a bit quiet.” Calum lifted his head from where it was rested on Ashton’s chest, meeting his eyes, which stupidly caused his stomach to flip like some teenage girl with a crush.

“Uh, yeah. I think I’m just a bit tired,” he reassured, offering a smile.

Ashton grinned. “That’s good. Can’t have my Cal being sad,” he said, ruffling Calum’s hair before stretching his arms above his head, revealing a strip of tanned stomach and a light dusting of hair leading into his pants. Calum could just imagine kissing the smooth grooves of his stomach, tracing his fingers over the slightly defined muscles, reaching his hand down to –

“Enjoying the show?” Ashton chuckled, interrupting his wicked thoughts. Calum quickly averted his gaze, blushing heavily.

“I-I was just – um – I’m going to study,” Calum managed to choke out, not daring to look at Ashton as he darted towards his bedroom. Great. His best friend caught him practically drooling over him and he made no excuse or attempt to save his ass.

After a few hours of half-hearted studying, there was a knock on his door, followed by Ashton letting himself in. Ashton plonked himself down on Calum’s lap, earning a grunt from the younger boy. “Cal? You aren’t mad at me, are you? I was just joking about before, y’know,” Ashton said, pouting slightly as he wrapped his arms around Calum’s neck.

“’Course not. I just remembered I had to work on this assignment,” Calum motioned to the mess of papers scattered around him. He tried to keep his attention on the conversation and not the way Ashton’s breath tickled his cheek, or how his fingers softly danced at the base of his neck, or how it would be so easy to lean in and capture his pouty lips in a kiss.

 “Good. I ordered pizza for us, it should be here soon. Finish up here and then you can get an early night so you aren’t tired tomorrow.” Ashton said, patting Calums head again as he stood up.

Calum rolled his eyes, although he was sure his heart had swollen at the reminder of just how much Ashton cared for him. “Alright, mum,” he scoffed, grinning to himself.

After they’d managed to eat a whole pizza each, Calum took Ashton’s advice and went to bed early. He slept like a baby, only waking up in the early hours of the morning when Ashton crawled into the bed beside him like he always did, pressing his back against Calum’s stomach, which he really didn’t mind at all. He carefully wrapped an arm around Ashton’s waist, wishing they could stay like this forever.

—-

Calum managed to sleep in until 11 despite going to bed early, causing a brief panic before he remembered that he didn’t any lectures until midday. Rolling over, he expected to see Ashton still sleeping peacefully, but instead, the bed was empty. He rolled out of bed, stretching blissfully before making his way towards the kitchen where he assumed Ashton would be. There was no sight of his friend; only an empty coffee cup and pizza boxes from the previous night on the counter. He frowned, quickly checking Ashton’s own room, the lounge room and bathroom before concluding that he wasn’t in the house. Ashton always had Thursday’s free from lectures, and he rarely bothered to go all the way (a whole 10 minute walk) into the library. Calum reassured himself that Ashton probably went to buy some more milk or bread or something, but still sent him a quick text asking where he was. He knew he mothered Ashton a bit, but he really couldn’t help it. Calum cared a lot about him – more than he would be willing to admit.

After taking a solid 40 minutes to shower and gulp down some instant coffee that tasted a bit like piss (If Ashton were there, he’d ask where Calum had tasted piss), he packed up his notes and grabbed his phone off the charger. Ashton hadn’t replied, which was unusual for him. Usually he was one of those people that reply within a minute of a text being sent. Calum bit his lip slightly, not able to stop the thoughts of  _Oh god what if he’s been kidnapped what if he was hit by a car what if what if_  rushing through his head. He laughed slightly at his own dramatic thoughts, sending a message with only a little eggplant emoji in case Ashton had missed his first text before making his way to his lecture.

When his lecture was  _finally_  over (listening to a balding man drone on about the history of cinematography for two and a half hours isn’t fun), Calum began the short walk back to their apartment, checking his phone while he walked. He frowned when Ashton  _still_  hadn’t replied to his messages. He sent another, this time a few question marks. Maybe Ashton had a re-scheduled lecture and his phone was on silent. In any case, he should be back by now.

But, when Calum pushed the door open, the apartment was empty. The dirty coffee mugs hadn’t moved from beside the sink, and the pizza boxes were still cluttering the counter. “Ash?” he called out, although judging by the dim-lit room and the lack of noise, Ashton wasn’t home.

Calum sighed slightly, deciding that it wasn’t worth worrying over too much. Ashton would probably be back soon anyway.

Two hours of working on coursework and playing FIFA later, Calum decided that he should call Ashton. The droning dial tone rang out until the voicemail message began playing. Calum frowned, re-dialling the number, only to have it ring out again.  _Now_ he was a bit worried. Ashton always picked up his phone.

 He tried to think of a friend Ashton could be hanging out with, but there really wasn’t anyone but Calum. Sure, he probably had some acquaintances in his lectures, but both boys had always been content with only each other’s company. They used to have a small group of friends, in high school, but it was always  _CalumandAshton_ or  _AshtonandCalum_  and there really wasn’t room for other people in their friendship.

He sent another text asking when Ashton would be home, and tried to distract himself from worrying by finishing his coursework and turning his music up as loud as it would go.

At 5:30, Calum heard the door click open and jumped up. He forced himself to walk calmly to the door, relief flooding through him when he saw Ashton was completely fine.

“Ash! Where  _were_ you?” Calum blurted out, looking him up and down. He was wearing his favourite Marvel shirt and his least torn pair of jeans, meaning he must have been trying to impress  _someone_.

 “Hello to you, too.” Ashton said with a chuckle, dumping his bag by the door and walking to the kitchen. “I was with Luke. I told you last night, remember?” he said nonchalantly.

“You were at his house all day and you didn’t think to tell me or answer my texts?” Calum grumbled, feeling sick to the stomach at the thought of Luke spending time with Ashton.

Ashton filled a glass of water and turned to face him, a blush on his cheeks. “Sorry, we were a bit…busy,” he mumbled, not meeting Calum’s eyes, although a slight smirk spread across his face.

Calum’s eyes widened at what Ashton was insinuating. “Did you and Luke –“ he began in a low voice, leaning against the counter as he didn’t trust his legs to keep him up. The thought of Luke putting his hands on Ashton’s body, kissing his neck and making him moan made him shudder.

“No! Not that it’s any of your business. I’m allowed to have my own life, you know,” Ashton snapped, glaring at him. Calum winced slightly at his harsh tone, but he couldn’t help being relieved that they didn’t fuck. Calum would’ve lost it. He knew Ashton wasn’t a virgin – he’d had his fair share of girlfriends and boyfriends through high school – but Ashton deserved better than some stupid barista that he’d only known for a matter of hours.

“I was  _worried_  about you, Ash.” Calum said softly, starting towards the older boy.

“I don’t  _need_  you to worry about me, Calum. I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions.” Ashton muttered. Calum backed up a bit, resembling a chastised puppy. He knew Ashton was just acting in the heat of the moment, but it still hurt.

Ashton sighed deeply, putting his cup down. “I’m sorry, Cal. I’ll text you next time,” he promised, opening his arms for a hug. Calum decided he hated how easily he forgave the older boy as he wrapped his arms tightly around his waist and buried his face in his neck.

—-

Friday passed in a blur, with both boys having lectures throughout the day. Calum loved film, he really did, but the lectures were  _so_  fucking boring. Luckily, next term would be mostly practical work, which meant that he could start doing what he loved – directing.

When he’d been around 14, he had forced Ashton and a few boys in their class to star in a movie he had written, filmed, directed and edited himself. It was pretty horrible – a cliché horror film complete with bed sheet ghosts - but there had been a scene where Ashton had to take his shirt off after he’d been “shot”, and Calum had to excuse himself for a moment when he’d been embarrassingly turned on by the sight of his  _best friend_  shirtless. That was probably around the time he realised he wasn’t attracted to girls in the slightest, and instead found deep voices and flat, muscled chests more appealing.

Ashton was the first person he came out to. Calum remembers it clearly – they were 15 and they’d been having a sleep over at Ashton’s house, playing truth or dare. Calum picked truth after he had made the mistake of picking dare and Ashton forced him to put a filthy sock in his mouth, and Ashton asked him if he’d rather make out with Sophie or Bella. Calum had blushed profusely and quietly stuttered out that he wouldn’t want to make out with  _either_  of them, even though they were apparently the hottest girls at their school. Ashton had looked at him with that stupid confused puppy expression, his head cocked slightly, until Calum manage to stutter out that he didn’t like girls.

“ _Oh._  You’re gay?” Ashton had said curiously. When Calum nodded and held back a choked sob, Ashton didn’t move away in disgust and tell him to leave his house. Instead, he hugged Calum tightly and told him that he thought liking boys was  _perfectly_  okay.

When they were 16, Calum accidentally got drunk at a party and made out with some guy from another school. The next day, it seemed that  _everyone_  knew about it. When he and Ashton were walking out of their English class, one of the ‘popular’ guys had called him a faggot and pushed him. Ashton had told them to back off, like the good friend he was. “I didn’t know you were a fag too, Irwin.” The boy had sneered, causing Ashton to snap and punch the boy right in the jaw. It was safe to say that they never gave Calum any shit about being gay after that.

Later that year, Ashton had dated his first boyfriend. Calum honestly wasn’t that surprised, Ashton had always said he just loved everyone. To be honest, that was quite an accurate description of the older boy – he didn’t really have a mean bone in his body. Everyone loved him, and he loved everyone (especially Calum, just not in the way Calum wanted to be loved).

—-

They had a tradition of going out to the movies on a Friday night, and Calum expected tonight to be the same. He got back at around three, and called out a greeting to Ashton before pulling his laptop out to finish the homework his professor had set. He could hear Ashton playing his drums as softly as he could manage in his room (they’d had several visits from grumpy neighbours about his drum playing). Ashton was extremely talented – he could listen to a song once through and then play it out flawlessly. Calum had taught him a bit of guitar, and he also played the piano (not as much anymore though, as their apartment didn’t have room for a proper piano and he claimed that keyboards didn’t do Chopin justice).

Ashton burst through his door at six, grinning at him. “Calum! Luke just invited me out for a drink at this new club. Do you want to come too?”

Calum frowned at his friend. “Friday night’s movie night. I don’t want to third wheel, anyway,” he sighed.

“Sorry, I promise we can see something tomorrow night. Please come, Cal. It’ll be fun,” Ashton whined, pouting slightly. He  _knew_  Calum couldn’t resist that expression.

“Fine, I’ll come. But if you spend all night making out with Luke, I’m leaving.” Calum sighed, closing his laptop and forcing a weak smile. God, the things he did for this boy. Ashton  _knew_  he hated clubbing – he wasn’t very good around large crowds and he did stupid things when he was drunk. Ashton cheered, blowing him a kiss before going back to his own room.

An hour later, Calum was sitting awkwardly beside Ashton with his second – or was it his third? – beer in his hand, trying not to pay attention to Luke whispering into Ashton’s ear. He couldn’t make out what he was saying over the loud music, but Ashton was giggling and squirming with slightly flushed cheeks. It took everything Calum had not to death glare Luke and tell him to fucking back off. He was  _way_  too sober for this. He gulped down the rest of his beer and excused himself, not that Ashton or Luke were paying attention to him.

Up at the bar, Calum ordered another beer, taking a seat on a vacant stool as he began to skull it down. He glanced up as someone sat beside him. The boy must have been around his age, with pale skin and dark purple hair that contrasted against his pretty green eyes. The boy ordered a shot of vodka and sat down, looking over at Calum, catching him staring. Calum looked away, blushing slightly. He had to admit the boy was attractive – and if Ashton was going to be making out with someone else all night, there was nothing stopping him from doing the same, right?

“I’m Michael,” the boy said, holding out a hand for Calum to shake. He took it awkwardly, meeting his eyes again.

“Um, Calum.” he introduced himself, his eyes flicking back to where Ashton and Luke were still sitting. Luke’s mouth was now attached to Ashton’s neck, and Calum felt sick.

“Nice to meet you, Calum. Are they your friends?” Michael asked, following his gaze.

“Yeah, the one getting fucking  _attacked_  is,” Calum muttered bitterly, taking another gulp of his beer.

“So…you’re single?” Michael asked with a quirked eyebrow, biting his lip as he made no attempt to hide the fact that he was checking Calum out. Calum choked slightly on his beer, clearing his throat. Michael certainly wasn’t shy.

“Uh, yeah. I’m single.” Calum said with a nod, unable to help the blush that rose to his cheeks.

Michael beamed. “Great! Wanna dance?” he asked with a flutter of his eyelashes, grabbing Calum’s hand before he even answered and dragging him to where people were grinding away at total strangers. Calum opened his mouth in protest, but decided to let Michael have his way. He was thankful for the alcohol flooding his veins, because they were now surrounded by people he didn’t know, and he was pretty sure someone was groping his ass.

Michael wrapped an arm around Calum’s waist, pulling him closer and wasting no time in grinding their hips slightly together. Calum let out an embarrassingly loud moan, blushing immediately. Michael didn’t seem to mind, chuckling a bit as his lips grazed Calum’s ear. “You like that?” he whispered huskily, sliding his hands down to the small of his back. Calum nodded hesitantly in reply, only to be cut off when Michael began kissing at his neck. Calum instinctively tilted his head back, allowing him access to the smooth, sensitive skin as he bit back another moan. This was _so_  ridiculous, he was turned on by some random guy in a club kissing his neck – but  _god_ , it had been a while, and he couldn’t help it, no matter how pathetic it was. The alcohol was definitely starting to take effect, as the lights were a bit blurry and he couldn’t notice anything except for how horny he was right now.

“Let’s go somewhere a bit more private,” Michael whispered into his ear with a wink, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the bathroom.

“Wait…Mikey, Michael, I can’t do this,” Calum said, shaking his head and stopping, taking a moment to get his balance.

“What? You said…you said you were single,” Michael frowned, looking thoroughly disappointed.

“I’m single. But you know my friend? You know him, right, Mikey? The one that was being kissed? Well, don’t tell anyone…but I love him.” Calum said, leaning in as he said it as if it were the greatest secret ever.

“ _Oh._  You’re in love! Why was he kissing another boy? Doesn’t he know?” Michael asked, his face almost comical with his wide eyes and frown. Calum shook his head.

“That’s okay, then. Maybe you can just come and cuddle me for a bit instead,” Michael decided, pulling him towards an empty booth. Calum lost track of how long they spent there, laughing about nothing and pointing out which guys in the club they’d  _totally_  hook up with if they had the chance.

“Isn’t that your friend?” Michael said after a while, pointing at Ashton, who seemed to be looking for something. Calum lifted his head from where it was resting of Michaels shoulder (Michael had a very comfy shoulder), nodding. Ashton made eye contact with him, and looked relieved, making his way over to their booth.

“Calum, there you are! Luke just left, he has work early tomorrow morning. We should go, too,” he said, glancing between Michael and Calum. “Um, who’s your friend?”

“Ash, this is Mikey. He’s really comfy,” Calum said with a grin, unhooking his leg from where it had been resting on Michael’s knee. Michael slid his hand into Calum’s pocket, pulling his phone out and typing something into it.

“There’s my number, call me any time,” Michael said with a wink. “You’d better go with your  _friend_ here,” he added, waggling his eyebrows at Calum, who hit his shoulder gently in retaliation, blushing.

“Good idea. Let’s go, Cal,” Ashton muttered, wrapping his arm around the slightly tipsy boys’ waist and sending a final glare towards Michael before helping Calum home.

“I didn’t like that guy,” Ashton told him when the air began to clear and the pounding music could no longer be heard. His strong arm was still wrapped tightly around his waist, supporting Calum.

“Which one?” Calum asked, hoping for some reason that he was talking about Luke.

“Mikey. The one that was dry humping you. He fucking left bruises on your neck,” Ashton scoffed, glancing towards the bare skin that was actually a bit sore, now that Ashton mentioned it. Calum felt a twinge of guilt, but pushed it away quickly. Ashton had been  _just_  as bad with Luke.

“You can’t really talk. Luke looked like he was trying to fucking  _eat_  you,” Calum pointed out defensively.

Ashton laughed bitterly. They were now climbing the stairs to their door, the cool air surrounding them. “That’s different. I actually  _know_  Luke,” he snapped, as if he were offended and the few hours he had known Luke for warranted him being able to do that to Ashton.

He opened the door to their apartment, following Calum in before suddenly placing a hand between Calum and the hallway, backing him up against the wall. “Were you going to let him fuck you, Calum? I know he sure wanted to,” Ashton said harshly into his ear.

Calum gulped, blinking rapidly at the feeling of Ashton so close to him, so angry at the thought of someone else having Calum. He should hate him for talking to him like this, but all he could think about was that Ashton was fucking  _hot_  when he was angry.

“Maybe I  _did_ want him to fuck me. Why do  _you_  care?” Calum challenged, moving forward so that they were even closer to each other, close enough that Calum could feel Ashton’s hot breath on his lips. Ashton sighed, backing down. He dropped his head as he took a step back.

“I care about you a lot, Calum,” he murmured softly, not making eye contact with him.

“I’m going to bed,” Calum muttered, pushing past him and doing his best not to slam the door to his room.

That was the first night in a long time that Ashton slept in his own bed.

—-

Calum woke up at midday with a slight headache, wincing against the harsh light streaming in through the window. Memories of last night came flooding back to him, and he wasn’t impressed with himself.  He was a bit of a dick to Ashton, and he  _knew_  he’d have to apologise. Sure, Ashton probably acted out of line, too, but Calum hated fighting with Ashton.

He forced himself out of bed, heading to the kitchen to get water and some painkillers. Once he’d downed them, he went in search of Ashton, finding him sitting on the couch and grinning at his phone. Calum hesitated, before going in and sitting down next to him. “Ash? I’m really sorry about last night,” Calum said, pressing their knees together.

“What do you mean? It’s not like anything happened,” Ashton said with a shrug of his shoulders, glancing up from his phone, where it looked like he was texting someone – probably Luke.

“Oh, you j-just seemed a little angry when we got home. I’m sorry I was a dick to you,” Calum said softly, confused at how Ashton was acting.

“I wasn’t angry. I just don’t want my best friend whoring himself off to some random guy in a club. It’s fucking tacky,” Ashton said, still looking at his phone as he shifted his leg away from Calum’s.

Calum winced visibly, standing up. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he shook his head and locked himself in his room, collapsing on the bed. He felt like someone had torn his heart and stomped it into the ground. He tried to apologise because Ashton seemed genuinely upset last night, and instead of apologising back or even just accepting Calum’s apology, he had all but called him a tacky whore. Nice.

He couldn’t even cry, all he could do was lie there feeling bitter and sorry for himself. He felt so stupid. He hadn’t even done anything  _wrong_. Ashton was being an asshole for no reason - the same Ashton that had been there for him ever since they were seven, always defending him and cheering him up and helping him when things got tough.

Calum groaned, standing up and walking quietly back into the lounge where Ashton was now lying on the couch, the TV blaring in the background as he giggled at something interesting on his phone. He glanced up when Calum entered the room, not bothering to move his legs to make room for him on the couch as he usually would.

“Where’s Luke?” Calum asked, trying not to sound as bitter as he felt (and failing a bit) as he leant against the doorframe. Ashton was seemingly oblivious to his question. “Ashton?”

“Hm? Oh, Luke’s at work. Why?” Ashton asked, giggling softly as his phone pinged with the alert of a new text.

“Just wondering. You guys seemed pretty attached last night,” Calum muttered, staring at the TV so he didn’t have to see Ashton’s stupid grin (okay, his grin was  _not_  stupid, but it wasn’t right that someone other than Calum put it there).

“So did you and that Mick guy, but you don’t see me whining about it.” Ashton replied with a shrug. Anger boiled inside Calum. Ashton was doing this on purpose. Calum  _wished_  he could hate his guts right now.

“It’s Michael, and I’m not whining. I was just curious,” Calum said defensively, frowning at the TV again.

“God, will you  _shut up_  about it? Why don’t you go and bother Mike or something?” Ashton groaned.

“Yeah, okay. Maybe I will.” Calum said, turning around and storming back to his room. He scrolled through his phone, finding where Michael had typed in ‘Mikeyyyy’ with a few whale emojis in his contacts. He hesitated for a second, but pressed the call button anyway. Michael seemed like a nice guy, he’d probably let Calum mope to him or something. It rang a few times, before someone picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey, Michael? It’s Calum, from last night,” he introduced, hoping Michael hadn’t been too drunk, or this could get awkward.

“Calum! I was wondering if you’d call. Are you busy tonight?” Michael asked, and Calum breathed a sigh of relief.

“Nah, I’m not. Ashton’s fucking pissed at me for no reason, I just need to get out of the house for a bit,” he explained, hoping he wouldn’t scare him off.

“You guys live together? That’s cute,” Michael laughed. “I’m actually going to see one of my mates play a gig in half an hour, you can come too if you want.”

Calum nodded, before realising that Michael couldn’t hear him nodding. “Uh, yeah, that sounds good. Text me the address, I’ll meet you there,” he said, happy that he wouldn’t have to be trapped in the apartment with the bitchiest best friend ever.

—-

Michael’s friend was in a surprisingly good band, and there was quite a turn out to see them. Around 200 people were packed into a bar, and Calum decided that this was  _just_  what he needed.

The band had finished playing, but Calum stayed with Michael, chatting to the band members, talking about music. Calum couldn’t help but think that Ashton would love talking to these guys, almost forgetting that Ashton was currently pissed off at him for no reason. Michael excused himself to get him and Calum another drink. When he returned, there was a frown decorating his face. “Hey Calum, you know how your friend Ashton was with that guy last night? Are they a thing?” Michael asked, handing him a beer.

“Uh, I guess so. Why?” Calum asked sceptically.

“Well, he’s currently in this bar sucking face with some guy that is definitely not Ashton,” Michael said, pointing towards a dimly lit bench near the back of the bar. Calum followed his gaze, and sure enough, a guy that looked a  _hell_  of a lot like Luke was sticking his tongue down some dark-haired boys throat.

“ _Oh._  What a fucking  _asshole._  Should I punch him?” Calum asked, freaking out slightly. He’d never punched someone, Ashton usually fought the physical wars for him, but now it was Ashton that needed defending.

“No! Just tell Ashton when you get back. That guy’s a fucking scumbag,” Michael muttered.

Calum nodded, downing the rest of his beer and listening idly to the conversation between Michael and the band, but he couldn’t concentrate. “I’d better go. Thanks for tonight, I really needed that,” he said, pulling Michael in for a quick hug before he left.

—-

Calum burst through the door to their apartment at half past nine, slightly tipsy but still thinking clearly. He gathered himself before walking into the lounge room where he could hear Ashton humming softly. He glanced up as Calum entered the room.

“Have fun with Michael?” Ashton asked snidely.

Calum rolled his eyes. “Yes, actually. Look, I need to tell you something. It’s about Luke,” he began, feeling somewhat bad for having to break this news to Ashton. Sure, Luke was a dick and Calum was jealous as  _fuck_ , but Ashton did seem to like Luke quite a bit. Ashton quirked an eyebrow, signalling for Calum to continue.

“He was there tonight, and he was kissing some brunette guy,” Calum rushed out. Ashton frowned at him, shaking his head.

“I doubt it. He told me he was working tonight. He was texting me, too,” Ashton said, holding up his phone as if it held the proof that Luke hadn’t been kissing another guy.

“He  _was_! I saw him, Ash. Why would I lie to you?” Calum said, slightly desperate.

“Maybe you’re just jealous of what I have with Luke. Is that it, Calum? You go out and get drunk then come back and  _lie_  to me about Luke. Just go to bed,” Ashton sighed, slumping back into the couch.

Calum frowned at him, shaking his head with a sigh as he left Ashton alone.

—-

Calum woke up the next morning with yet another headache. He hated hangovers, even ones as mild as this. He just hoped Ashton wasn’t as grumpy today – he missed waking up to his face and it had only been two days. He had already decided that he wouldn’t try to apologise again, because that obviously didn’t work last time.

When he finally got out of bed, he heard voices coming from the lounge room. He walked in, expecting to see Ashton watching TV or talking to his mum on the phone. Instead, Luke and Ashton were curled up together on the couch, laughing at something. Ashton noticed Calum standing by the door and looked up at him.

“Calum! Luke was just telling me about his shift last night,” Ashton said pointedly, raising an eyebrow at him as if it were a challenge.

Calum just stared at Luke, wondering if he could get away with murder if he had a good reason, like the victim  _lying_  to his best friend. Unless Luke had an identical twin, he had been sticking his tongue down another boy’s throat last night, not working. “Great,” he mumbled as he averted his gaze, not in the mood to start a fight with Ashton again.

“We were just about to watch a movie, you should join us,” Ashton said in a slightly kinder tone, smiling at Calum.

He was tempted to make some excuse to get out of it, but Ashton’s gaze was pleading, and he couldn’t resist it. He sat down in the free chair across the room that gave him a horribly direct view of their cuddling.

The movie was one Calum had seen several times before and didn’t care for (he  _swore_  he could have done a better job at directing it), so he couldn’t help his eyes wandering from the screen to where Ashton sat with his head resting on Luke’s shoulder. Calum decided that glaring at Luke and trying to pick out flaws in his appearance (it wasn’t easy) was much more interesting that the film.

When the two hours of torture (aka watching Luke with Ashton) was finally over, Ashton flicked the TV off and looked at Calum expectantly. Luke cleared his throat. “So Calum, what are you studying?” Luke asked, smiling at him. He had stupid dimples and a stupidly deep voice.

“Um, Film and Media,” Calum told him, trying to keep the scowl off his face.

“Film and Media? What do you plan on doing with  _that_  degree?” Luke said, raising his eyebrows with a chuckle. Calum was really doing a good job of not fucking punching him right in his stupid mouth.

“I want to be a director. What are  _you_  studying?” Calum challenged, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

“I’m studying Law so I can be a lawyer,” Luke told him, smiling smugly as if studying Law made him some kind of god. What a pretentious douchebag.

“I guess that means you’re good at lying and cheating, right?” Calum all but spat at him, standing up with his hands curled into fists by his side. He knew he was acting like a five year old, but he couldn’t help it. Luke  _really_  pissed him off.

Luke looked genuinely offended, frowning at Calum. Ashton looked slightly panicked, looking between Calum’s fists and Luke. Calum forced himself to relax his muscles, still breathing heavily and death glaring Luke.

“I’m so sorry, Luke, Calum is usually not this  _aggressive_ ,” Ashton explained, shooting a glare at Calum as if he were a grumpy dog that needed scolding.

“It’s fine, Ash. I’d better get to work now, anyway,” Luke said softly, kissing Ashton on the lips before standing up, giving Calum’s shoulder a slight shove as he pushed past him. Once the door had shut, Ashton turned to face him.

“What the  _fuck_  was that about?!” Ashton hissed, walking closer to Calum. “What is your fucking problem?”

“ _Luke’s_  my problem! He acts so fucking high-and-mighty when he’s really just a lying, cheating asshole!” Calum said in disbelief. Luke had laughed at his decision to study what he loved and Ashton  _still_  sided with him.

Ashton frowned at him. “Why can’t you just be happy for me? You’ll find a boyfriend too, Cal,” he said with a sigh, as if that was what Calum was upset about.

Calum just laughed, shaking his head. Ashton  _really_  didn’t have a clue. He’d been in love with him for years and Ashton didn’t have the  _faintest_  idea. “You really don’t get it, do you, Ash?” he muttered, and this was dangerous, because he could so easily tell Ashton right now. He could ruin their friendship, make Ashton hate him. Maybe Ashton would move out and live with Luke, he thought, wincing internally at the idea.

“I don’t get  _what_?! Tell me what you’re thinking, Calum, because obviously I’m too  _stupid_  to know,” Ashton huffed, moving even closer and looking thoroughly pissed off.

“I’m fucking in  _love_  with you, Ashton.” Calum muttered as he closed the gap between them, wrapping one arm around Ashton’s waist and bringing the other up to rest in his slightly curly hair, pulling their bodies flush together as he leant his head down to crash their lips together. Ashton made a small noise of surprise as Calum’s lips pressed against his. He didn’t kiss back.

Calum realised what was happening and panicked. Oh god. He was kissing Ashton, finally, after all these years, and Ashton wasn’t kissing back. Ashton was frozen against his body.

Calum backed up, releasing Ashton from his grip and staring at him for a moment, panting slightly. Ashton was staring at him, his expression unreadable.

He couldn’t look at him a moment longer. He was a fucking  _idiot_. He needed to get away from Ashton. He spun around, ready to walk out the door, when Ashton grabbed his wrist, spinning him around so they were facing each other.

“You kissed me,” Ashton said quietly, meeting Calum’s eyes.

Calum didn’t trust himself to speak, so he just nodded, looking at the ground.

Ashton’s hand touched his jaw gently, tilting it up so Calum was making eye contact with him again. His hazel eyes flicked down to Calum’s lips, and he leaned in, pressing their lips together so softly that Calum wasn’t sure if he was just imagining it. Calum melted into the touch, his hands moving to the back of Ashton’s head and tangling into his curls.  

Ashton pressed more forcefully, pulling Calum closer and deepening the kiss, his tongue swiping against Calum’s bottom lip. Calum opened his mouth, allowing Ashton access. His mind was racing at a million miles an hour, full of  _oh god Ashton is kissing me Ashton’s tongue is in my mouth Ashton Ashton Ashton_. He tasted like caramel and apples and probably heaven. Ashton broke the kiss, breathing heavily and grinning like he’d won the lottery. “Okay,” he whispered, pressing their foreheads together.

Calum nodded in response, his mouth hanging open slightly as he tried to gather his thoughts.

“We should have done that a lot sooner,” Ashton said with a giggle, still smiling so wide Calum was scared that his face would split in half.

“What about Luke?” was all Calum could think to say, though there were a thousand words, a thousand confessions on his lips.

Ashton shrugged. “I can deal with that later.” he said, before leaning in to kiss Calum again. It was more heated this time, more desperate. Ashton pulled him closer, taking control of the situation, and Calum  _really_  didn’t mind.

Their hips somehow ended up flushed together, and Ashton’s hands were roaming down Calum’s back, resting on his ass. Calum whined softly into the kiss as Ashton pulled away, only to re-attach his lips onto Calum’s neck. He hissed slightly when Ashton scraped his teeth across the sensitive skin, probably hard enough to leave a mark (not that he was complaining).

Calum pushed Ashton off him softly, taking the opportunity to kiss down his jaw, leaving his own marks on Ashton’s neck next to the fading ones Luke had left a few days ago. His hands slid beneath Ashton’s shirt, running over the smooth muscles of his back. Ashton took the hint, tugging his shirt off before doing the same to Calum’s. They’d seen each other shirtless before, but this was different – they both  _wanted_  this. Calum couldn’t help but grin, shaking his head in disbelief. Ashton tugged them both down onto the couch, somehow managing to fit both their bodies on, pressed up against each other.

He was staring at Calum with his mouth slightly open, running his calloused fingertips over his stomach, up to his face. “How long?” Ashton murmured, still exploring Calum’s skin with his fingers.

“What?” Calum asked, shivers running down his spine.

“How long have you…y’know, loved me?” Ashton rephrased his question tentatively.

Calum shrugged, blushing a bit. “A while. At least two years.”

“Oh. You know why Mark broke up with me last year? I accidentally called out your name while we were…yeah. More than once,” Ashton whispered, his cheeks flushed.  Calum raised his eyebrows.

“Are you telling me we could’ve been doing this a year ago?” he asked with a slightly incredulous voice.

“Hm, probably. But that’s okay, we’ve got all the time in the world now,” Ashton whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to Calum’s forehead.


End file.
